The color, one might say, is that fluorescent green so typical of the jackets worn by municipal waste workers. Raphaël Kaddour’s debut film guides us through the daily life of Recypark Buda: more about the people, less about the trash.
Set in a recycling center in Belgium, Buda follows the daily lives of workers on the front lines of customer service. They have to deal with constant demands, complaints, grievances, and with the fact that the customer is always right. These employees simply carry out orders from above, even when they must face the public over decisions made by others. On both sides of this confrontation, different profiles emerge: there are customers who vent their frustrations on the workers, others who direct their dissatisfaction toward the company, and those who recognize the harshness of the job. But even those who listen can only shrug – there are few alternatives for these workers.
In between their shifts, the usual interactions between colleagues unfold and we see them reflect on mental exhaustion, the suffocating weight of work, ideas of “success” and the meaning of their roles. At the end of the tunnel lies the mirage of retirement – something to be enjoyed when it is finally time to die.
Through shifting perspectives and fragments of dialogue, the film reveals the psychological pressure of work in our century, particularly on the production floor, and questions a system that treats employees as mere tools. (Jéssica Pestana)
